Shirt garment with hidden magnet

ABSTRACT

The collared shirt has a placket with a top piece and bottom piece extending at least a portion of the length of the shirt. The bottom piece comprises an attached collar male button, an attached first male button spaced apart from the collar male button and below the collar male button, and an attached second male button spaced apart from the first male button and below the first male button, and an intermediate male magnetic button between the first and second male buttons. The top piece comprises female buttons corresponding to the male buttons on the bottom piece. The top piece further comprises an intermediate female magnetic button corresponding to the intermediate male magnetic button and affixed to an inner side of the top piece.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/734,293, filed Jan. 3, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/860,227, filed Jan. 2, 2018, (now abandoned)which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/451,797, filed Mar. 7, 2017 (now abandoned), which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/421,142,filed Jan. 31, 201 (now abandoned), which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/369,780, filed Dec. 5, 2016 (nowabandoned), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/084,382, filed Nov. 19, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,538,791, thedisclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Business casual is an increasingly viable mode of dress. For most,business casual includes a button down collared shirt or blouse. The topbuttons of these garments are often left unsecured, so as to leave openthe collar area for a more casual appearance, even while wearingbusiness attire.

However, often times, the placement of the buttons on the garment arenot custom to the wearer. This may lead to an uncomfortable situation.If the wearer is too buttoned up—i.e. one too many buttons arebuttoned—he/she may project the appearance of being uptight or stuffy.If the wearer is too buttoned down—i.e. one too few buttons arebuttoned—he/she may be seen as sloppy. This is particularly troublesomewhere being too buttoned down exposes an inappropriate amount of chesthair or cleavage. But, if one were to simply add more buttons to a shirtor blouse, the resultant look would be aesthetically unpleasing simplydue to the excess number of buttons.

It is therefore desirable to provide garments having hidden intermediatebuttons between the topmost exposed buttons that will permit wearers tobe optimally unbuttoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A shirt, with or without a collar, is described herein that overcomesthe limitations noted above.

A shirt with a collar has a placket with a top piece and bottom pieceextending at least a portion of the length of the shirt. The bottompiece comprises an attached collar male button snap, an attached firstmale button spaced apart from the collar male button and below thecollar male magnetic button, and an attached second male button spacedapart from the first male button and below the first male button, and anintermediate male magnetic button between the first and second malebuttons. The top piece comprises female buttons corresponding to themale buttons on the bottom piece. The top piece further comprises anintermediate female magnetic button corresponding to the intermediatemale magnetic button and affixed to an inner side of the top piece.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following more detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way ofexample, the principles of the presently described apparatus and methodof its use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrated in the accompanying drawing(s) is at least one of the bestmode embodiments of the present invention. In such drawing(s):

FIG. 1 illustrates a garment according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a garment showing a hidden intermediate buttonaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a three-button polo shirt according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 4 is another illustration of the three-button polo shirt with ahidden intermediate button according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a four-button polo shirt according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 6 is another illustration of the four-button polo shirt with ahidden intermediate button according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is another illustration of a shirt with a hidden snap accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is another illustration of a shirt with a hidden magnetic buttonaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The above described drawing figures illustrate the described inventionin at least one of its preferred, best mode embodiment, which is furtherdefined in detail in the following description. Those having ordinaryskill in the art may be able to make alterations and modifications towhat is described herein without departing from its spirit and scope.While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understandingthat the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification ofthe principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broadaspect of the invention to the embodiment illustrated. Therefore, itshould be understood that what is illustrated is set forth only for thepurposes of example and should not be taken as a limitation on the scopeof the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary garment 10 in accordance with at leastone preferred embodiment. The garment 10 (for example, a shirt orblouse) comprises a collar 20 and a placket 40 extending therefrom,permitting a user to don the garment with substantial ease. Preferably,the placket 40 extends the entire length of the garment 10, but it mayalso extend only a portion of the garment 10. Indeed, in embodimentswhere the placket 40 extends only a portion of the garment 10, it ispreferable that the placket 40 extends the upper portion of the garment40, as defined by the user's chest area while in use. The garment 10 maybe made of any materials such as leather, denim, cotton, polyester,combinations of such materials, etc. The garment 10 may resemble anynon-western style clothing articles. The garment 10 may also resembleany western-styled clothing articles such as casual shirts, formalshirts, t-shirts, polo shirts, etc. The placket 40 may comprise a toppiece 42 that overlays a bottom piece 44 (shown in FIG. 2), the bottompiece 44 having a plurality of spaced apart exposed buttons 46 forremovably engaging correspondingly spaced apart button holes 48 of thetop piece. Thus, the top and bottom pieces may be disengaged so that theuser may easily don the garment 10, and then reengaged to close thegarment 10. In some embodiments, the collar 20 may also include one ormore collar buttons 22 and corresponding button holes 24 (shown in FIG.2). Importantly, the exposed buttons 46 and the collar buttons 22, whenengaged with their respective button holes 48 and 24, are exposedthrough the button holes of the top piece 42 and therefore are plainlyvisible to an observer.

The plurality of buttons may include at least a first and a secondbutton, and corresponding button holes. The first button is the buttonlocated closest to the collar 20, while the second button is the nextclosest. Neither the first nor the second button is located on thecollar 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom piece 44 may further comprise a hidden,intermediate button 56 located between the first and second buttons 46.In some embodiments, the intermediate button 56 may have a diameter thatis less than the diameter of the first and second buttons 46. In otherembodiments, the diameter of the intermediate button 56 may either bethe same or greater than the first and second buttons 46. Correspondingto the intermediate button 56, the placket 40 may have a correspondingbutton hole 58 with dimensions corresponding to the hidden button 56 andlocated on the inner side of the top piece 42. In some embodiments, oneedge of the inner side of the top piece 42 may not attached to thegarment 10. In some embodiments, the button hole 58 may only extendthrough the inner side of the top piece 42 and not through the entiretop piece 42 such that the intermediate button 56 is hidden from viewwhen the intermediate button 56 is engaged with the corresponding buttonhole 58. In some embodiments, the intermediate button 56 may be locatedon the inner side of the top piece 42 and the corresponding button hole58 may be located on the bottom piece 44. In some embodiments, there maybe a hidden strip (not shown in figure) made of any material such ascotton, denim, etc., between the inner side and outer side of the toppiece 42. The intermediate button 56 may be attached to the inner sideof the top piece 42 and to the hidden strip to provide more support. Theintermediate 56 button may be attached to the bottom piece 44 or the toppiece 42 by any form of attachment such as sowing, Velcro, stapling,etc. The hidden strip may also prevent the form of attachment of theintermediate button 56 from being visible from the outer side of the toppiece 42. For example, in some embodiments, the intermediate button 56may be sewed on to the inner side of the top piece 42 and the hiddenstrip. In such an embodiment, the stitching is not visible from theouter side of the top piece 42. The hidden strip is not attached outsidethe inner and outer side of the top piece 42 because such an attachmentresults in potential separation between the top piece 42 and the bottompiece 44.

Turning to FIG. 3, a three-button polo shirt 100 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention is shown. The polo shirt 100 mayinclude either long or short sleeves and may be made of the followingmaterials: 100% cotton, 95% cotton/5% spandex, 96% cotton/4% spandex,92% polyester/8% spandex, and/or 94% polyester/6% spandex. The poloshirt 100 may also be made of any materials such as leather, denim,cotton, polyester, combinations of such materials, etc. The polo shirt100 may resemble any non-western style fashions. The polo shirt 100 mayalso resemble any western-styled shirts. The polo shirt 100 may comprisea collar 110 and a collar button 120 located on the front of the shirt100 just below the left collar opening. The polo shirt 100 furtherincludes a placket, having a bottom piece 125 and top piece 126, thatruns a portion of the length of the shirt 100, long enough toaccommodate a first button 130 below the collar button 120, and a secondbutton 140 located below the first button 130. In one embodiment, thesecond button 140 is located approximately 3.75 inches from the firstbutton 130, on the bottom piece 125, measured at the center of eachbutton. Further, the second button 140 is located approximately 1.75inches above the seam 150 of the placket pieces 125/126, which islocated just above the end 160 of the placket. Each button on the bottompiece 125 may have a corresponding button hole on the top piece 126. Forinstance, collar button 120 may have a corresponding button hole locatedon 122. The first button 130 may have a corresponding button hole 132located on the top piece 126. Likewise, the second button 140 has acorresponding button hole 142, also located on the top piece 126.

As with the previous embodiment, there's also a hidden button 135 foroptimal wear, hidden in between the first button 130 and second button140. Turning to FIG. 4, what is shown is the three-button shirt 100 withthe hidden button 135 revealed. The hidden button 135 is located onbottom piece 125, in between the first button 130 and second button 140at approximately the midpoint. In some embodiments, the hidden button135 is smaller in size than the first button 130 and second button 140.In some embodiments, the hidden button 135 is equal or bigger in sizethat the first button 130 and second button 140. On the top piece 126,there is a button hole 138 appropriately sized for the hidden button135. In some embodiments, the button hole 138 only extends through theinner side (not shown) of the top placket 126 and therefore not visiblefrom the upper surface of the top piece 126. In some embodiments, thehidden button 135 may be located on the inner side of the top piece 126and the corresponding button hole 138 may be on located on the bottompiece 125. In some embodiments, the hidden button 135 may be stitchedonly on the inner side of the top piece 126 such that the stitching (notshown) does not appear on the outer side of the top piece 126. In otherembodiments, the hidden button 135 may be stitched to the top piece 126in a way that the stitching (not shown) appears on the outer side of thetop piece 126. The stitching may be of any shape or design. In someembodiments, there may be a hidden strip (not shown in figure) made ofany material such as cotton, denim, etc., between the inner side andouter side of the top piece 126. The hidden strip may serve the samepurpose and work in a similar manner as described in the description ofFIG. 2.

Turning to FIG. 5, a four-button polo shirt 200 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention is shown. The polo shirt 200 mayinclude either long or short sleeves. The polo shirt 200 may includeeither long or short sleeves and may be made of the following materials:100% cotton, 95% cotton/5% spandex, 96% cotton/4% spandex, 92%polyester/8% spandex, and/or 94% polyester/6% spandex. The polo shirt200 may also be made of any materials such as leather, denim, cotton,polyester, combinations of such materials, etc. The polo shirt 200 mayresemble any non-western style fashions. The polo shirt 200 may alsoresemble any western-styled shirts such as casual shirts, formal shirts,t-shirts, polo shirts, etc. The polo shirt 200 may include a collar 210and a collar button 220 located on the front of the shirt 200 just belowthe left collar opening. The polo shirt 200 may further include aplacket with a top piece 226 and a bottom piece 225, that runs a portionof the length of the shirt 200, long enough to accommodate a firstbutton 230 below the collar button 220, a second button 240 locatedbelow the first button 230, and a third button 270 located below thesecond button 240. In one embodiment, the first button 230 may belocated approximately 60 millimeters from the collar button 220 on thebottom piece 225, measured at the center of each button. The secondbutton 240 may be located approximately 50 millimeters from the firstbutton 230. Further, the third button 270 may be located approximately50 millimeters from the second button 240 and approximately 33millimeters above the seam 250 of the placket pieces 225/226, which arelocated just above the end 260 of the placket pieces 225/226. Eachbutton on the bottom piece 225 may have a corresponding button hole onthe top piece 226. For example, collar button 220 may have acorresponding button hole located at 222. The first button 230 may havea corresponding button hole 232 located on the top piece 226. Likewise,the second button 240 may also have a corresponding button hole 242.Finally, the third button 270 may have a corresponding button hole 272.As with the previous embodiment, there may also be a hidden button 235for optimal wear, hidden in between the first button 230 and secondbutton 240.

Turning to FIG. 6, what is shown is the four-button shirt 200 with thehidden button 235 revealed. The hidden button 235 may be located onbottom piece 225, in between the first button 230 and second button 240at approximately the midpoint. Further, in some embodiments, the hiddenbutton 235 may be smaller in size than the first button 230 and secondbutton 240. In other embodiments, the hidden button 235 may be equal toor bigger in size than the first button 230 and second button 240. Onthe top piece 226, there may be a button hole 238 appropriately sizedfor the hidden button 235. In some embodiments, the button hole 238 onlyextends through the inner side (not shown) of the top piece 226 andtherefore not visible from the upper surface of the top piece 226. Insome embodiments, the hidden button 235 may be located on the inner sideof the top piece 226 and the corresponding button hole 238 may be onlocated on the bottom piece 225. In some embodiments, the hidden button235 may be stitched only on the inner side of the top piece 226 suchthat the stitching (not shown) does not appear on the outer side of thetop placket 226. In other embodiments, the hidden button 235 may bestitched to the top placket 226 in a way that the stitching (not shown)appears on the outer side of the top placket 226. The stitching may beof any shape or design. In some embodiments, there may be a hidden strip(not shown in figure) that is made, functions, and serves similarpurpose as described in the description FIG. 2 and FIG. 4.

Turning to FIG. 7, a shirt 300 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention is shown, which uses button snaps instead of buttonsand button holes. The shirt 300 may also be made of any materials suchas leather, denim, cotton, polyester, combinations of such materials,etc. The shirt 300 may resemble any non-western style fashions. Theshirt 300 may also resemble any western-styled shirts such as casualshirts, formal shirts, t-shirts, polo shirts, etc. The shirt 300 mayinclude either long or short sleeves and may include a collar 310 and amale collar button snap 320 located on the front of the shirt 300 justbelow the left collar opening and a corresponding female button snap 322just below the right collar opening. The shirt 300 may further include aplacket with a top piece 326 and a bottom piece 325 that runs at least aportion of the length of the shirt 300, long enough to accommodate afirst male button snap 330 below the collar button snap 320 and a secondbutton snap 340 located below the first male button snap 330. Each malebutton snap on the bottom piece 325 may have a corresponding femalebutton snap on the top piece 326. For example, the male collar buttonsnap 320 may have a corresponding female button snap 322. The first malebutton snap 330 may have a corresponding female button snap 332 locatedon the top piece 326. Likewise, the second male button snap 340 may havea corresponding female button snap (shown snapped together). In someembodiments, the male button snaps, such as 320, 330, and 340 may bemade of metal. In some embodiments, the snaps such as 320, 330, and 340and the corresponding female button snaps such as 322, 332, etc., may bemade of plastic, any other material, or combination of materials suchthat different snaps may me made of different materials. In someembodiments, the male button snaps may be made of a different materialthan their corresponding female button snaps.

As with the previous embodiment, there may also be a hidden male buttonsnap 335 for optimal wear, hidden in between the first male button snap330 and second male button snap 340. The hidden male button snap 335 maybe located on bottom piece 325, in between the first male button snap330 and second male button snap 340 at approximately the midpoint. Insome embodiments, the hidden male button snap 335 may be made of metal.In some embodiments, the hidden male button snap 335 may be made ofplastic or any other material. In some embodiments, the female buttonsnap 338 maybe made of a different material than the male button snap335. Further, in some embodiments, the hidden male button snap 335 maybe smaller in size than the first male button snap 330 and second malebutton snap 340. In other embodiments, the hidden male button snap 335may be equal to or bigger in size than the first male button snap 330and second male button snap 340. On the top piece 326, there may be afemale button snap 338 appropriately sized for the hidden male buttonsnap 335. In some embodiments, the female button snap 338 may beattached only to the inner side (not shown) of the top piece 326 andtherefore its mode of attachment such as stitching, sticking, etc., isnot visible from the upper surface of the top piece 326. In someembodiments, the female button snap 338 may be attached to the top piece326 in a way that its mode of stitching may be visible from the uppersurface of the top piece 326. In some embodiments, the hidden malebutton snap 335 may be located on the inner side of the top piece 326and the corresponding female button snap 338 may be on located on thebottom piece 325. In some embodiments, the hidden male button snap 335may be stitched only on the inner side of the top piece 326 such thatits mode of attachment (not shown) is not visible through the outer sideof the top piece 326. In other embodiments, the hidden male button snap335 may be attached to the top piece 326 in a way that its mode ofattachment (not shown) appears on the outer side of the top piece 326.In some embodiments, there may be a hidden strip (not shown in figure)made of any material such as cotton, denim, etc., between the inner sideand outer side of the top piece 326. The intermediate male button snap335 or the corresponding female button snap 338 may be attached to theinner side of the top piece 326 and to the hidden strip to provide moresupport. The intermediate male button snap 335 or the correspondingfemale button snap 338 may be attached to the bottom piece 325 or thetop piece 326 by any form of attachment such as sowing, Velcro,stapling, etc. The hidden strip also prevents the form of attachment ofthe intermediate male button snap 335 or corresponding female buttonsnap 338 from being visible from the outer side of the top piece 326.The hidden strip is not attached outside the inner and outer side of thetop piece 326 because such an attachment results in potential separationbetween the top piece 326 and the bottom piece 325. In some embodiments,there may be no hidden strip because unlike buttons, snaps have twoseparate pieces the male and female part that need to be attached to thefabric providing extra bulk to the snaps compared to the buttons.Additionally, unlike buttons, snaps do not need any room behind them sothe snaps provide for a tighter look with minimal gap. As explainedabove, in such an embodiment, the intermediate snap may be attached tothe top piece 326 and bottom piece 325 in a way that it only passesthrough the inner side or outer side of the top piece 326 and/or thebottom piece 325 whereas the regular snaps punch through both the innerand outer side or the top piece 326 and bottom piece 325. In someembodiments, the intermediate male button snap 335 may be a button andthe corresponding female button snap 338 may be a corresponding hole forthe button. In some embodiments, the intermediate male button snap 335may be any other means of engaging the top piece 325 and the bottompiece 326, such as Velcro. In some embodiments, all or some of theregular male button snaps, such as 330 and 340 and/or the collar buttonsnap 320 may be replaced with buttons, Velcro, or any other means ofengaging the top piece 326 and bottom piece 325; and the correspondingfemale button snaps, such as 338, 322, etc., may also be replaced withappropriate means of engaging the top piece 325 and bottom piece 326.For example, in an embodiment, all the regular male button snaps andfemale button snaps may be replaced with buttons and button holes,respectively, while the intermediate male button snap 335 and thecorresponding female button snap 338, both made of metal, remains.

Turning to FIG. 8, a shirt 800 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention is shown, which uses button snaps instead of buttonsand button holes. The shirt 800 may also be made of any materials suchas leather, denim, cotton, polyester, combinations of such materials,etc. The shirt 800 may resemble any non-western style fashions. Theshirt 800 may also resemble any western-styled shirts such as casualshirts, formal shirts, t-shirts, polo shirts, etc. The shirt 800 mayinclude either long or short sleeves and may include a collar 810 and amale collar magnetic button 820 located on the front of the shirt 800just below the left collar opening and a corresponding female magneticbutton 822 just below the right collar opening. The male button 820 andfemale button 822 may also be any non-magnetic forms of attachmentsdescribed above. The shirt 800 may further include a placket with a toppiece 826 and a bottom piece 825 that runs at least a portion of thelength of the shirt 800, long enough to accommodate a first malemagnetic snap 830 below the collar magnetic button 820 and a secondmagnetic button 840 located below the first male magnetic button 830.Each male magnetic button on the bottom piece 825 may have acorresponding female magnetic button on the top piece 826. The firstmale magnetic button 830 may have a corresponding female button snap 832located on the top piece 826. Likewise, the second male magnetic button840 may have a corresponding female magnetic button (shown snappedtogether). In some embodiments, the male and female buttons describedherein button may be made of any non-magnetic materials as well, so asto facilitate non-magnetic forms of attachment.

As with the previous embodiments, there may also be a intermediate malemagnetic button 835 for optimal wear, hidden in between the first malemagnetic button 830 and second male button snap 840. The intermediatemale magnetic button 835 may be located on bottom piece 825, in betweenthe first male magnetic button 830 and second male magnetic button 840at approximately the midpoint. The intermediate male magnetic button 835may have a corresponding intermediate female magnetic button 838. Theintermediate male magnetic button 835 and female magnetic button 838 mayalso be made of other non-magnetic materials to facilitate non-magneticforms of attachments described above. In some embodiments, theintermediate female magnetic button 838 maybe made of a differentmaterial than the male magnetic button 835. In some embodiments, onlythe intermediate male and female button 835, 838 respectively, may havemagnetic properties and not any other buttons on the shirt 800. Further,in some embodiments, the intermediate male magnetic button 835 may besmaller in size than the first male magnetic button 830 and second malemagnetic button 840. In other embodiments, the intermediate malemagnetic button 835 may be equal to or bigger in size than the firstmale magnetic button 830 and second male button snap 840. On the toppiece 826, there may be a intermediate female magnetic button 838appropriately sized for the intermediate male magnetic button 835. Insome embodiments, the intermediate female magnetic button 838 may beattached only to the inner side (not shown) of the top piece 826 andtherefore its mode of attachment such as stitching, sticking, etc., isnot visible from the upper surface of the top piece 826. In someembodiments, the intermediate female magnetic button 838 may be attachedto the top piece 826 in a way that its mode of stitching may be visiblefrom the upper surface of the top piece 826. In some embodiments, theintermediate male magnetic button 835 may be located on the inner sideof the top piece 826 and the corresponding female magnetic button 838may be on located on the bottom piece 825. In some embodiments, theintermediate male magnetic button 835 may be stitched only on the innerside of the top piece 826 such that its mode of attachment (not shown)is not visible through the outer side of the top piece 826. In otherembodiments, the intermediate male magnetic button 835 may be attachedto the top piece 826 in a way that its mode of attachment (not shown)appears on the outer side of the top piece 826. In some embodiments,there may be a hidden strip (not shown in figure) made of any materialsuch as cotton, denim, etc., between the inner side and outer side ofthe top piece 826. The intermediate male magnetic button 835 or thecorresponding intermediate female button snap 838 may be attached to theinner side of the top piece 826 and to the hidden strip to provide moresupport. The intermediate male magnetic button 835 or the correspondingfemale magnetic button 838 may be attached to the bottom piece 825 orthe top piece 826 by any magnetic, non-magnetic form of attachment suchas sowing, sticking, Velcro, stapling, etc., or a combination of bothmagnetic and non-magnetic forms of attachments. The hidden strip alsoprevents the form of attachment of the intermediate male magnetic button835 or corresponding intermediate female magnetic button 838 from beingvisible from the outer side of the top piece 826. The hidden strip isnot attached outside the inner and outer side of the top piece 826because such an attachment results in potential separation between thetop piece 826 and the bottom piece 825. In some embodiments, there maybe no hidden strip because unlike regular buttons, magnetic buttons havetwo separate pieces the male and female part that need to be attached tothe fabric providing extra bulk to the magnetic buttons compared toregular buttons. Additionally, unlike regular buttons, magnetic buttonsdo not need any room behind them so the magnetic buttons provide for atighter look with minimal gap. As explained above, in such anembodiment, the intermediate magnetic button may be attached to the toppiece 826 and bottom piece 825 in a way that it only passes through theinner side or outer side of the top piece 826 and/or the bottom piece825 whereas the regular magnetic buttons pass through both the inner andouter side or the top piece 826 and bottom piece 825. In someembodiments, the intermediate male magnetic button 835 and/orintermediate female magnetic button 838 may be hidden in theirrespective plackets. In some embodiments, all or some of the regularmale magnetic button, such as 830 and 840 and/or the collar magneticbutton 820 may be replaced with buttons, Velcro, or any other means ofengaging the top piece 826 and bottom piece 825; and the correspondingfemale button snaps, such as 838, 822, etc., may also be replaced withappropriate means of engaging the top piece 825 and bottom piece 826. Insome embodiments, the intermediate male and female magnetic buttons 835,838, respectively, may be of any shape and size, including but notlimited to simple round discs. In some embodiments, the intermediatemale and female magnetic buttons 835, 838 respectively, may be hiddenbeneath the layers of fabric such that they are not visible at all. Insome embodiments, the intermediate male and female magnetic buttons 835,838, respectively, may be different to the other buttons on the shirt800 in shape, size, function, etc.

The embodiments described in detail above are considered novel over theprior art of record and are considered critical to the operation of atleast one aspect of the invention and to the achievement of the abovedescribed objectives. The words used in this specification to describethe instant embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense oftheir commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition inthis specification: structure, material or acts beyond the scope of thecommonly defined meanings. Thus, if an element can be understood in thecontext of this specification as including more than one meaning, thenits use must be understood as being generic to all possible meaningssupported by the specification and by the word or words describing theelement.

The definitions of the words or drawing elements described herein aremeant to include not only the combination of elements which areliterally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts forperforming substantially the same function in substantially the same wayto obtain substantially the same result. In this sense, it is thereforecontemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements maybe made for any one of the elements described and its variousembodiments or that a single element may be substituted for two or moreelements in a claim.

Changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person withordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expresslycontemplated as being equivalents within the scope intended and itsvarious embodiments. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later knownto one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scopeof the defined elements. This disclosure is thus meant to be understoodto include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what isconceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted, and alsowhat incorporates the essential ideas.

The scope of this description is to be interpreted only in conjunctionwith the appended claims and it is made clear, here, that the namedinventor believes that the claimed subject matter is what is intended tobe patented.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shirt having a collar, the shirt having alength, comprising: a placket with a top piece and bottom pieceextending at least a portion of the length of the shirt; wherein thebottom piece comprises an attached collar male button, an attached firstmale button spaced apart from the collar male button and below thecollar male button, and an attached second male button spaced apart fromthe first male button and below the first male button, wherein thecollar male button, first male button, and second male button aresubstantially the same size; wherein the bottom piece further comprisesat least one intermediate male magnetic button located in between thefirst and second male button; and wherein the top piece substantiallyoverlays the bottom piece when worn, wherein the top piece defines afirst female button that corresponds to the first male button and asecond female button that corresponds to the second male button, whereinthe top piece further comprises an intermediate female magnetic buttonto receive the at least one intermediate male magnetic button; andwherein the intermediate female magnetic button is affixed to an innerside of the top piece.
 2. The shirt of claim 1, wherein the at least oneintermediate male magnetic button is located at an approximate midpointbetween the first and second male buttons.
 3. The shirt of claim 1,wherein the least one intermediate male magnetic button and thecorresponding intermediate female button snap is hidden within a fabricof the shirt.